Bamangachhi student killing: Court awards death sentence to 8 accused

Earlier on Frida, the court found 12 accused guilty in the case under several IPC and Arms Act sections.

Out of the 12, nine accused, including the main offender in this case -  Shyamal Karmakar - were convicted under IPC sections 302 (Murder), 364 (Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 34 (Criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). Shyamal Karmakar, was also convicted under Arms Act sections 24 (Seizure and detention of any arms or ammunition in the possession of any person, under orders of the Central Government) and 27 (Using Arms).

The remaining three accused were found guilty under IPC section 212 (Harbouring offender), as they had helped the offenders flee from the area and sheltered them. Anup Talukdar, who was also arrested in connection with the case, was acquitted by the court.

The Public Prosecutor in this case, Biplab Roy, on Tuesday demanded capital punishment for all convicts. 

However, the Additional District Judge (7th Court) of Barasat District Court, Daman Prosad Biswas, awarded death sentence to eight of the 12 convicts- Shyamal Karmakar, Suman Sarkar, Suman Das alias Bhuban, Amal Barui alias Kuche, Ratan Samaddar, Tarak Das, Somnath Sardar and Tapas Biswas.

Another accused, Rakesh Barman, was given life imprisonment and remaining trio- Sishir Mukherjee alias Santu, Ratan Das and Poly Maity- was sentenced to five years in prison.

On July 4 in 2014, a college student Saurav Chowdhury was abducted and murdered for protesting against anti-social activities in his area. The next day, his scarred body was found beside railway tracks between Duttapukur and Bamangachhi stations.

Police from Duttapukur Police Station submitted charge sheet, in this case, before the court in Sept 2014. Fourteen of total 15 accused, who were named in the FIR, were arrested. One of them- Liton Talukdar- is still absconding.

Sharing their feeling, one family member of Saurav Chowdhury told IBNS, "We are very happy today. Want to say thanks to all of them, who were with us and who are still with us. We got a huge support from police, administration and local people in past 19 months."

Meanwhile, the accused lawyer said that they will be moving to higher court, challenging this judgment.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)